"I'd like to try writing..."
"I've always thought that maybe one day I could write..."
"What will the editor of XYZ magazine think if..."
These days everyone's online, and everyone writes. But when it comes to nailing their colors to the mast and proclaiming "I'm a writer!" many writers (young and mature) are nevertheless beset by doubts.
Tips:
* You're a writer because you write, and because you say so;
* You can write anything you like. You don't need anyone's permission, least of all an editor's;
* If you want to write, write. If you "don't have time", write in the bath, or talk into a digital recorder while you're pedaling an exercise bike. In five minutes, you can write a couple of hundred words, which is just about a page;
* No one knows what you CAN write. That's pretty much up to you. Only you know whether you've got the stamina to plant your butt in a chair and pound away at a keyboard. And butt in chair is really all that's required. SOMETHING will come out, and it's usually better than you could imagine;
* Editors are people with jobs. If you want to know what the editor of XYZ magazine would think, drop him or her an email message and ask. The worst that can happen is that you'll be ignored. If it seems that you are being ignored, try to find another email address for the editor, or be a mad fool and buy a stamp and write a letter. Persist with your questions, and you'll get answers;
* Again: you're a writer because that's what you do, and because you're brave enough to say so.
You're a writer. Yes, you are. :-)
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